Discoveries

An artist’s depiction of HD 189733b encountering an eruption of x-rays from the star it’s orbiting

This Nearby Exoplanet Is Hot, Dangerous—and Smells Like Rotten Eggs

Located about 64 light-years away from Earth, the world is the first place astronomers have detected hydrogen sulfide outside our solar system

The planet-forming disk is made of gas and dust.

This Giant Cosmic 'Butterfly' Is a Planet-Forming Disk

New research has confirmed that the celestial object may be the biggest of its kind ever found

An angled view of the solar system with main asteroid belt discoveries in green and near-Earth objects in light blue.

Scientists Discover 27,500 Asteroids in Old Telescope Images Using A.I.

While most of the team’s new finds are located in the main asteroid belt, about 100 are near-Earth asteroids that pass close to our planet's orbit

An aerial view of the excavation site in Crowland, a town in Lincolnshire, England

Archaeologists Were Looking for a Medieval Hermitage. They Found a 'Monumental' Prehistoric Henge

The site in eastern England may have served as a sacred space for groups across thousands of years

Archaeologists uncovered a trove of artifacts, including this scorched axe, from a Bronze Age settlement called Must Farm.

Incredibly Well-Preserved Bronze Age Village Reveals a Snapshot of Early British Life Before a Fire

Residents fled when flames burned through the Must Farm settlement, and now, archaeologists have unearthed its buildings and objects that were preserved in a riverbed

The gray whale was spotted during an aerial survey on March 1, about 30 miles off the coast of Nantucket.

A Rare Gray Whale, Believed Extinct in the Atlantic for 200 Years, Has Been Spotted off New England

Scientists say a lack of Arctic sea ice due to climate change could have created a passageway for the mammal to travel from the Pacific Ocean

Math historian Glen Van Brummelen came across decimal points in Giovanni Bianchini's manuscript, Tabulae primi mobilis B.

The Decimal Point Is 150 Years Older Than Previously Thought, Medieval Manuscript Reveals

A Venetian merchant used the mathematical symbol while calculating the positions of planets between 1441 and 1450

Abraham Lincoln pardoned Moses J. Robinette on September 1, 1864.

Abraham Lincoln Pardoned Joe Biden's Great-Great-Grandfather, 160-Year-Old Records Reveal

Historian David J. Gerleman discovered the link between the two presidents while reviewing historic documents at the National Archives

The Hand of Irulegi

Words Etched Into an Ancient Bronze Hand Hint at the Mysterious Origins of the Basque Language

Archaeologists unearthed the 2,100-year-old artifact in northern Spain and discovered the inscription contains two words that resemble those of the modern language Euskara

The scroll is part of a vast library found in the ancient town of Herculaneum.

Three Students Just Deciphered the First Passages of a 2,000-Year-Old Scroll Burned in Vesuvius' Eruption

The trio used artificial intelligence to decode sections of the text, which appear to be a philosophical exploration of pleasure

A 2,000-year-old human skeleton found at the Jabuticabeira II burial site in Brazil.

DNA From 2,000-Year-Old Skeletons Hints at the Origins of Syphilis

In contrast to a common theory, new findings suggest Columbus-led expeditions may not have transported syphilis to Europe from the Americas, though they cannot disprove the claim with certainty

An aerial view of the temple walls unearthed north of Rome

Roman Imperial Cult Temple Unearthed Beneath a Parking Lot in Italy

The pagan temple sheds new light on the empire's gradual embrace of Christianity

The S.S. Dix was part of the "Mosquito Fleet" of vessels that ferried passengers around Puget Sound.

117-Year-Old Shipwreck Found in Puget Sound

The S.S. Dix went down while ferrying passengers between Seattle and Bainbridge Island

The rare 14th-century portolan chart is worth $7.5 million.

Sold for $239,000, This Map Is Actually a Rare 14th-Century Nautical Chart—and Worth $7.5 Million

A San Diego map dealer uncovered the artifact's true origins through impressive historical sleuthing

Jean Fouquet's Melun Diptych features two panels, Étienne Chevalier with Saint Stephen on the left, and Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels on the right.

Mysterious Stone in 15th-Century Painting Could Be a Prehistoric Tool

Jean Fouquet's "Melun Diptych" is likely the earliest artistic representation of an Acheulean hand ax

The Africa disappeared on Lake Huron in October 1895.

Filmmakers Stumble Upon 128-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Huron

A duo working on a documentary about invasive quagga mussels in the Great Lakes discovered the long-lost steamship "Africa"

An original copy of a 15th-century Christopher Columbus letter translated from Spanish into Latin

Christopher Columbus Letter Describing Journey to the Americas Sells for $3.9 Million

Copies of the letter have long been the target of thefts and forgeries, but Christie's says this one is the real deal

Children Wading (1918), painted by Scottish artist Robert Gemmell Hutchison, was recovered thanks to the Art Loss Register's database.

A Painting Stolen in a Heist 30 Years Ago Has Returned to Glasgow

After vanishing without a trace in 1989, "Children Wading" appeared at an auction house in England

A Herculaneum scroll being scanned at Institut de France by Brent Seales and his team

This 21-Year-Old Used A.I. to Decipher Text From a Scroll That Hasn’t Been Read in 2,000 Years

The papyrus scroll is one of hundreds that were carbonized in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

Signs calling for the abolition of Columbus Day formed the backdrop for a protest in front of city hall in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The Evolution of Columbus Day Celebrations, From Italian Immigrant Pride to Indigenous Recognition

The holiday has been controversial practically since its inception

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